Skyscrapers and Towers

Skyscrapers and Towers — page 1 — The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet 324 meters tall including the antenna at the top Tall Treasures Look Look at a picture of any city Can you tell where it is by the structures that you see The Empire State Building stands tall against New York City’s skyline The Eiffel Tower rises above Paris France The tilt of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is famous in Italy The Leaning Tower of Pisa is now considered to be a work of art It took nearly two centuries to be completed 4 4

Skyscrapers and Towers — page 2 — Extremely tall buildings are called skyscrapers because their height makes them appear to reach to the sky Towers are not buildings Buildings have floors with homes or offices in them A tower is a tall narrow structure that can be part of a building or stand alone Bell housings on churches are an example of a tower Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock in the tower at the Palace of Westminster in London It first chimed on May 31 1859 5

Skyscrapers and Towers — page 3 — Engineers use technology to develop innovate and create new things including buildings They also look for ways to improve technology Architects design buildings and towers They draw the plans for buildings and towers and oversee their construction Towers have existed for thousands of years The 11,000-year-old Tower of Jericho at 38 feet 8 5 meters tall is thought to be the first skyscraper in the world It was built with stone and mud The ancient Egyptians built the first towers as pyramids The pyramids were built of solid stone as tombs for their pharaohs Located in the West Bank the Tower of Jericho is one of the earliest stone monuments in history Brain Builder Imhotep was the founder of Egyptian architecture He was also a scribe writer priest and doctor He served as Pharaoh Djoser’s advisor and designed the Step Pyramid Pharaoh Djoser’s tomb was the first pyramid near modern Cairo Egypt It is called the Step Pyramid 6

Skyscrapers and Towers — page 4 — The early buildings and towers were limited by building materials Stone is heavy and it’s hard to get stone structures very high before they collapse under their own weight Building techniques improved but stairs higher than five stories were a problem Brain Builder Flying buttresses in the 1100s supported the roofs of Gothic churches so glass could be used in the walls An arch attached to the building at the roof led the weight away from the building to a column of stone which supported the weight Notre Dame in Paris is a church that uses flying buttresses for support Notre Dame in Paris has endured destruction and subsequent restoration in many periods However much of the facade and interior still are true to the original designs 7

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